ameliorative

[ uh-meel-yuh-rey-tiv, -mee-lee-uh- ]

adjective

1. making or intended to make something better, more bearable, or more satisfactory:

   Our objective is to make ameliorative changes that protect children more effectively and build a safer future for families.

Other Words From

• un·a·mel·io·ra·tive adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of ameliorative¹

ameliorat(e) ( def ) + -ive ( def )

Example Sentences

And she said, “this one is better. It has these ameliorative features that the prior law didn’t have.”

From Washington Post

Where the coronavirus and Black Lives Matter highlight the “I can’t breathe” of patients and Black victims of police brutality, Ms. McArthur shifts it to a personal register that feels both ameliorative and activist.

From New York Times

Some climate activists argue that if we publicly admit that the problem can’t be solved, it will discourage people from taking any ameliorative action at all.

From The New Yorker

After more than half a century of attempts at ameliorative social policies, it is undeniable that there exists an underclass trapped by the intergenerational transmission of poverty.

From Washington Post

He goes on to extol the ameliorative efforts of companies like Facebook, which use artificial intelligence to detect posts that mention suicide and other idioms of self-harm.

From The New Yorker

Related Words

• beneficial
• curative
• remedial
• salutary